New article: Thorea okadae

Our new article, which elucidates the photosynthetic response of the freshwater red alga Thorea okadae to environmental gradients of temperature, irradiance, desiccation, and salinity, was recently published in the Journal of Applied Phycology. Thorea okadae is a freshwater red alga distributed in the southern and western parts of Japan and is listed as an endangered species by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan. We believe that the insights presented in the article will contribute to a better understanding of the conservation of this species.

Terada, Makino, & Nishihara 2025. The photosynthetic response of the freshwater red alga Thorea okadae to environmental gradients of temperature, irradiance, desiccation, and salinity: Adaptations to its stream habitat. Journal of Applied Phycology, 37. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-025-03528-7

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10811-025-03528-7 

Thorea okadae

New article: Solieria latifolia sp. nov. and S. yoshidae sp. nov. (Solieriaceae, Rhodophyta) from offshore Tanegashima Island

Please take a look at our new article on two newly discovered species of the genus Solieria from offshore Tanegashima Island. It was published on May 12, 2025, in Phycologia, the official journal of the International Phycological Society.

Suzuki, Zemba, & Terada. 2025. Solieria latifolia sp. nov. and S. yoshidae sp. nov. (Solieriaceae, Rhodophyta) from offshore Tanegashima Island, Japan. Phycologia, 64. DOI:10.1080/00318884.2025.2494493
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00318884.2025.2494493
 

In recent years, we have focused on species diversity and environmental adaptations in Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems (MCEs—ecosystems found at depths greater than 30 m) around offshore Tanegashima Island, and have published a series of related articles. The species name Solieria yoshidae was dedicated to the late Dr. Tadao Yoshida (1933–2024), Professor Emeritus of Hokkaido University, who was a specialist in the taxonomy of Solieria.

https://www.kagoshima-u.ac.jp/topics/2025/05/post-2326.html

Research voyage of the T/S Nansei-Maru, Kagoshima University

The Marine Botany Lab and Kagoshima City Aquarium participated in a research voyage aboard the T/S Nansei-Maru of Kagoshima University, conducting a deep subtidal algal survey off the coast of Tanegashima Island in the northern Ryukyu Islands. The weather and sea conditions were calm, and we successfully returned to Kagoshima today. This survey was conducted as part of a training voyage for university students in the Faculty of Fisheries.

 

Nationwide long-term monitoring of algal communities

As part of a collaboration between our lab and the algal lab at Kobe University, Professor Terada and an MSc student participated in field surveys for the nationwide long-term monitoring of algal communities, which was conducted by Kobe University. During two surveys—at Awajishima Island and Takeno—dense communities of Ecklonia and Sargassum spp. were confirmed.

Kobe University Marine Site at Awajishima Island

Ecklonia cava

Takeno Site

Sargassum spp.

 

MB Laboratory Seminar

We had an MB Laboratory seminar at the beginning of the spring semester. As it was the first seminar of the term, Dr. Terada and Endo presented their recent research topics. The seminar will be held every two weeks until September, during which students will present their progress reports and introduce recently published articles.

 

 

Asian Pacific Phycological Association (APPA) Regional Forum in Shandong 2025

Professor Ryuta Terada of the Marine Botany Lab attended the Asian Pacific Phycological Association (APPA) Regional Meeting in Rongcheng, Shandong Province, China, from April 21 to 23, 2025. During the meeting, studies on kelps and other valuable species were presented, and constructive discussions took place. Rongcheng City is one of China’s most productive regions for Saccharina japonica cultivation. 

The next APPA regional meeting will be held in Thailand in 2026. 

New article: The genetic legacy of a global marine invader (PNAS)

Please take a look at a newly published article on the introduction of the Pacific oyster, as well as other species that were transported with it to various regions. The article is now available in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS).

This study was led by Professors Erik Sotka and Allan Strand of the Grice Marine Laboratory, College of Charleston, USA, and was conducted through international collaboration, including contributions from our laboratory.

Congratulations to Erik, Allan, and all the other outstanding coauthors involved!

Erik E. Sotka et al. 2025. The genetic legacy of a global marine invader. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 122 (15) e2418730122

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2418730122

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2418730122

Special Exhibition at Kagoshima City Aquarium: The World of Marine Algae

As the opening event of the special exhibition The World of Marine Algae, a workshop on making marine algae herbarium specimens was held at Kagoshima City Aquarium in Kagoshima. Twelve elementary and junior high school students attended. The students created herbarium specimens of twenty-four species of marine algae collected from various locations in Kagoshima Prefecture.

 

 

 

 

 

New article: DNA-based floristic survey of red algae (Rhodophyta) growing in the mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) offshore of Tanegashima Island

 Please take a look at our latest article on the DNA-based floristic survey of red algae (Rhodophyta) in the mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) offshore of Tanegashima Island, Japan. 

 

This study presents the first comprehensive catalog of red algae comprising the sublittoral marine flora (deeper than 30 m) around offshore Tanegashima Island and represents the first exhaustive molecular-assisted survey of red algal marine flora in Japan. Morphological and molecular analyses using plastid-encoded rbcL and mitochondrion-encoded cox1 genes identified a total of 129 species, including nine newly recognized in Japan.

 

Suzuki, M, and Terada, R 2025. DNA-based floristic survey of red algae (Rhodophyta) growing in the mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) offshore of Tanegashima Island, northern Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan. PLoS ONE 20(3): e0316067 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0316067

 

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0316067 

Spring has come!

Spring has come!
As spring arrives, the time of the lowest daily low tide shifts from nighttime to daytime, making intertidal algae surveys easier to conduct on the rocky shore. Yesterday, we conducted a survey at Nishikata Beach, Satsuma-Sendai City, which faces the East China Sea. Notably, Pyropia suborbiculata, Grateloupia asiatica, and Gloiopeltis furcata were abundant on the intertidal rocks.